Getting people excited about their data one visual at a time™

When I first started blogging about data visualization in early 2013, one of the first posts I made was to show Richard Johnson’s eerily telling infographic 31 Days Later which depicted, using human shadow figures, how many gun-related deaths had occurred in the United States each day since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Mr. Johnson’s work has always been best at telling you an important topical story using beautiful illustrations and creativity.

I was taught to draw by my grandfather. He started by teaching me to draw the shapes around things rather than the things themselves. This is a technique I still fall back on today, when I am struggling with proportions.

For me, drawing is about getting people to pay attention to something – to something they need to see clearly, to something studied and dissected and rendered and understood. So I draw. I draw what I see. I use that limited drawing skill, to hopefully stun people out of their daily reverie.

My grandfather’s spirit travels with me still.

Last week, Mr. Johnson provided a detailed and beautiful infographic for The Washington Post related to the Mt. Everest Tragedy. I have shared this infographic with you in this post.

I encourage you to visit Mr. Johnson’s web site to see other amazing graphics he has created as well as some wonderful photography by him.

Best regards,

Michael

Deadly Avalanche on Everest

At least 13 Nepali guides, most of whom were Sherpas, were killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest on Friday, making it the deadliest accident on the world’s highest peak. The avalanche occurred in an area nicknamed the “popcorn field,” which is surrounded by ice boulders along the route leading through the Khumbu Icefall. The avalanche struck at about 19,000 feet, just below Camp 1.

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Wow, I’m so glad I stopped by. Richard Johnson is my new hero! Yes, his website is quite impressive. He’s as great at creating compelling infographics as he is creating traditional representational art. I just posted an irreverent essay about Manuel Lima and started to look around at other blogs.